Painted environment.... I painted this scene using photoshop CS4 using a Intuos 3 tablet...In this scene I did not use matte technique...I usually don't allow download but this one I will... Here is the steps how I painted this scene [link]

Matte is the combination of using photos, 3d and painting to create a scene...here is an example [link] ...look on Youtube then you will have a better understanding matte painting. The movie business use alot of matte.

I agree! But I guess it's because you're actually painting in the "missing" parts or something. Not just blending/layer fx like in photomanips. Not quite sure though. I'm getting a book on this stuff soon, it looks like exceptional fun to do!